Naismith Trophy on view at Jordan's famous Amman Citadel, Petra and Um Qais

AMMAN (Jordan) - If only we could all be as lucky as the Naismith Trophy, which is traversing the globe and seeing the sights, one after another, in the buildup to the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila, Okinawa and Jakarta.

One country after another that is taking part in the World Cup has received a visit thanks to the Trophy Tour presented by J9, including Jordan.

And the first stop in the Hashemite Kingdom was the ancient city of Jerash.

Inhabited since the Bronze Age, it now has the ruins of the walled Greco-Roman settlement just outside the modern city.

Just 50km from the capital of Amman, Jerash has the best-preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy

The trophy then made its way to Umm Qais, which overlooks the Jordan Valley and the Sea of Galilee. At Umm Qais, formerly called Gadara, is a colonnaded street, a vaulted terrace, and the ruins of two theaters.

Umm Qais

Next, the Trophy was taken to the Amman Citadel, where it was greeted by a group of very special men: the Jordan national team.

Jordan are getting ready to play at the World Cup for the third time.

 Jordan's men took a break from training to see the Naismith Trophy at the Amman Citadel

Jordan's men, gearing up for one of the toughest schedules at the World Cup, with games coming up against USA, Greece and New Zealand in Group C, will have drawn some inspiration by visiting the famous sites, and of course seeing the Naismith Trophy.

Also seeing the Naismith Trophy at the Amman Citadel - the U16 boys and girls teams, and the country's 3x3 team.

There were approximately 300 people to see the trophy at the Amman Citadel.

Jordan is home to the famed archaeological site of Petra, the Nabatean capital dating to around 300 B.C. This is where the trophy was taken next.

Known for its rock-cut architecture, it is also called the "Rose City" because of the color of the stone.

 FIBA